De Bruyne left Stamford Bridge last January, having failed to impress Blues head coach Jose Mourinho in his six-months in West London. Since signing for Chelsea in 2012, the 23-year-old enjoyed strong loan spells with Genk in his homeland and Bundesliga side Werder Bremen. After scoring 10 goals in 33 games for Bremen, De Bruyne returned to Stamford Bridge and started last season in Mourinho’s first-team, but he only made three Premier League appearances - and nine in all competitions - and was soon on his way out of the club.

He departed to return to the Bundesliga, signing for Wolfsburg for a reported €20 million fee, and has impressed for the league high-fliers. In 17 games this term he has three goals and 10 assists, and has been one of the best performing Bundesliga players in a side looking to seriously challenge Bayern Munich for the league championship when fixtures restart at the end of January.

However, De Bruyne could not be turning out for Die Wölfe when the league returns with a fixture at home to Bayern, with SportBild reporting that Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has been impressed by his development in the last year, and is looking to bring him to Old Trafford in the coming days.

There is no indication as to what fee United would have to pay to secure the signature of the attacking midfielder, but Wolfsburg are sure to be looking to make an investment on their €20 million outlay from last season, especially with De Bruyne impressing in Germany, and with four-and-a-half years remaining on his current contract.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.